


Memories Long Since Past

by DiaHonkers



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Brotherly Affection, Brotherly Bonding, Brotherly Love, Brothers, Found Family, Gen, Jokes, Memories, Post-Canon, Reflection, Restored Alphonse Elric, Returning Home, Self-Reflection, Teasing, Zine: Blossoming - A Fullmetal Alchemist Fanzine, bittersweet memories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:29:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24595306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DiaHonkers/pseuds/DiaHonkers
Summary: Edward and Alphonse finally head home after the Promised Day and reflect on the experiences they've had throughout their journey.Collab Piece from Blossoming: A Fullmetal Alchemist fanzine
Relationships: Alphonse Elric & Edward Elric, Alphonse Elric & Maes Hughes, Alphonse Elric & Riza Hawkeye, Alphonse Elric & Roy Mustang, Edward Elric & Ling Yao, Edward Elric & Maes Hughes, Edward Elric & Riza Hawkeye, Edward Elric & Roy Mustang
Comments: 4
Kudos: 36





	Memories Long Since Past

**Author's Note:**

> I had the pleasure to work with the team of Blossoming and collab with [_Ltreat](https://twitter.com/_Ltreat) on this! They drew an amazing piece going with this fic and it was an absolute joy to do so.

It had been three months since that day Alphonse Elric escaped from that metal prison and his soul returned to where it rightfully belonged. Years of unuse left his body frail and brittle. He was admitted to the hospital as soon as possible after the Promised Day finally ended and he endured intensive physical therapy and rehab in order to even be considered eligible for release. However, that’s all in the past now that he’s on his way home.

He and his brother had been dropped off at the station by the newly appointed Lieutenant Colonel Armstrong, and after a tight squeeze to Ed and a reluctant hug to Al, the two boys were left alone. 

Edward arched his back stretching, “Let’s go get our tickets,” he said with a smile, his suitcase over his shoulder. 

The sight of his younger brother’s soul inhabiting his own body brought warmth flooding to his heart each time he caught a glimpse of it. No matter how much time passed, he didn’t think he’d ever get used to it.

“Actually, wait, _I’ll_ go get our tickets. You go sit down,” Ed said, correcting himself and nodding his head towards an open seat. 

Al rolled his eyes but began to hobble over to the bench anyway. He leaned on his crutch, stumbling ever so slightly. Ed had eyes like a hawk. He noticed his subtle struggle and immediately rushed over to grab him and help him over.

“I’m fine brother,” he huffed, “I’ve told you this before, I can walk on my own two feet.” 

“But–”

“No buts! Go buy the tickets!”

Edward grumbled something under his breath and stood in line for tickets. Al was still so weak, and he needed to be protected! He was his little brother after all. And while he’d managed to convince himself long ago that he wasn’t to blame, he couldn’t help but feel a little pang of guilt for everything that happened.

Al noticed the line was a bit long, but he didn’t mind. After being cooped up in a hospital for so long and not being able to smell or feel for even longer, he was eating up all the things his senses picked up on in the station. Sure, it was a bit of an overload, but it was worth it to him.

“Alright,” His brother snapped him out of his thoughts, “I got the tickets, let’s go.”

“Looks like we’re early for once,” Al joked as his brother helped him up the steps and onto the train.

Ed rolled his eyes in response, “Yeah right,” he groaned, “It’s only because everyone was ushering us out the door. ‘Blah blah blah, ohh Fullmetal, your brother is still recovering and can’t run; ohh Fullmetal, try to be on time for once; ohh Fullmetal even though I’m not your commanding officer anymore I’ll still be annoying and give you orders,’” he said in a mocking tone. “Ugh! I hate him!”

Al chuckled as they sat in an empty booth, “Don’t say that, brother, he was being considerate.”

Mustang had been there for both of them in their darkest times. Ed would never admit it, but he saved their lives in a way. He gave them the chance to research. He kept their secret for years despite the risk of being court martialed, just to protect them.

He reignited the extinguished fire in his brother’s eyes. He... was almost like a father to them. He practically raised them alongside the rest of his team. Had it not been for him, he wouldn't…. 

Al glanced down at his bony flesh hand and squeezed as tight as he could. Had it not been for Mustang, he’d still be locked within that armor prison.

Despite the “hatred” he had for the man, Ed stared out at the station with a smile on his face. “Hey,” he broke the silence, “Do you remember that time we got back from a mission and I swung the door open and slammed Mustang right in the face?”

Al smirked, “He was so mad, he chased you through the halls before a superior officer stopped him and asked what he was doing.”

“That was a good day. Miss Riza and I sat down and talked while we listened to you two screaming in the hallway.”

“He got his ass kicked for that one. The only reason that superior didn’t yell at me was because I was a 14-year-old boy and he was a 30-year-old man!”

Al looked at his brother mischievously, “You say that like you never got yelled at! Remember…”

Ed’s face slowly set into horror. The one time he had gotten yelled at and truly cowered in fear: “Don’t say it, don’t say what I think you’re going to say,”

“That one time…”

“Alphonse Elric, don’t you da-”

“That you walked into the women’s shower and Miss Riza was in there.”

“GAHHHH,” Edward’s hands shot to his face immediately. That was one of the things they swore they’d never speak of again, yet here his brother was bringing it up.

It had been an accident! He didn’t see anything! At least before a bullet whizzed an inch beside his ear and he ran for his life. He got a mouthful from Mustang about respecting women and consent. He ran before Mustang dared to get to anything further.

“You’re an asshole.”

“I learn from the best.”

Edward gaped at his brother before shaking his head and laughing, “Man, I really never thought that anything good would have come out of this.” 

Ed rested his head against the cool glass plane. He could see the transparent reflection of his face on the glass. So much time had passed. He started this journey as a young 12-year-old boy, somehow enlisted into the military as a state alchemist – a human weapon. Back then his face was full of baby fat – his chubby cheeks made his eyes appear more round and his chin was twice the size as it was now. Now...he looked like a man. His eyes resembled his father’s more so than his mother's now and his jaw was chiseled. Grey circles laid themselves under his eyes from years of sleep deprivation and stress.

“It was hard to look at the good in things back then...it hasn’t even been that long, but I’m starting to see how much good came out of it,” Al said, “Had we never done what we did, we wouldn’t have met the people we have – we wouldn’t have met our family.”

A puzzled look grew on Ed’s face. “Family? What’re you talking about?”

Al shook his head, “Not necessarily blood family, but...we found our own. Miss Riza, Colonel-General Mustang, the Hugheses, Ling, Mei…” 

Al’s list of names trails on for a long time. When he finally finished, Ed stayed silent, lost in thought. The hundreds of people they’d spoken to and met in the past few years – they were all a part of their family now. For so long the boys had none outside of the Rockbells, but throughout their adventure it grew.

“I...guess you’re right…” he said smiling. “We’ve focused on so much of the bad that we never saw the good.” 

“Don’t get me wrong, there was so, so much bad that happened.” 

They didn’t need to say it. Nina. Mr. Hughes. Greed. The Homunculi. Father. The truth of the Philosopher's stone. Those events were forever cemented in their minds, they could never forget about them, but their minds focused so much on them that they missed out on all the fun times they had.

“Do you remember that one time Mr. Hughes came to Mustang’s office and before he could even speak, Mustang told him to leave if he only wanted to talk about Elicia?” Ed said.

Al laughed. “That was the same day hundreds of pictures came spilling out of his pockets, right?”

“Yeah,” Ed smirked, “His face got so white. Mustang had looked so disappointed in him.”

“How’s Miss Gracia doing? The last time we saw her was right after the Promised Day.”

“She’s doing well, last I’ve heard. Mustang told me Elicia was starting school soon.”

Al laughed. “Mr. Hughes would have had a fit!”

He reflected on the short time he’d had with the man. Such a caring soul, from the first day the pair met him he’d treated them like his own. He’d brought them to his home and fed them (despite the fact Al couldn’t eat), gave them a place to stay, and made them feel like they had a family once again.

“I wish he got to see.”

Ed looked up before realizing what Al had meant. He didn’t need to elaborate. “I wish so too.”

“Do you think he would have been proud of us?” Al’s eyes were soft, they emanated slight worry but mostly glowed with grief.

“Don’t be stupid,” Ed gave Al a light punch on the shoulder. “He would have been _ecstatic._ ”

That brought a smile to his face, “He saw pictures when we were younger though.”

“I’m pretty sure he took one.”

“What?”

Ed laughed, “You saw the way he gushed about Elicia. The way he treated us, even though we weren’t his kids. He...was like a dad.”

“Awww, brother, you’re being all sentimental,” Al teased.

Ed’s face lit bright red. “S-shut up! You have the same tone in your voice when you talk about Mei!”

Now, it was Al’s turn to go bright red. “Sh-she’s just a good friend!”

 _“Good friend my ass,”_ Ed mumbled under his breath. “Speaking of Mei, I wonder if she and the others made it back to Xing.”

“I hope so. Mei’s been to Resembool and Ling and Lan Fan also know where we live. If they send a letter to Resembool, in general, it’ll get to us eventually”

¨Yeah...¨ Ed agreed, “We should invite them over to visit sometime. It obviously won’t be any time soon, but it would be nice to see them again. Maybe you’ll get to eat a boot with Ling as well” he joked.

“A boot?” Al asked. “I knew he was always hungry but why did he eat a boot?!”

Ed started to cackle, drawing the attention of other passengers. “Did I never tell you that story!? When Ling and I were inside Gluttony, he almost passed out from hunger. We didn’t have any food so we made soup out of my boot.”

He lifted up his left leg and slammed it on the empty space next to his brother. Al jumped, startled before Ed wiggled his toes.

“We ate this one ‘cause it’s automail. That asshole dared to ask me if I had athlete’s foot,” he grumbled.

“I don’t blame him, brother. Even if it was automail, it’s not like you showered.” 

“Hey!” Ed reprimanded. “Don’t call me out like that,” he pointed a finger at him.

“Brother,” Al sighed and leaned in closer, looking Ed square in the eyes. “I cleaned myself more than you and I didn’t even have a body.”

Ed blushed. “S-shut up. I was busy researching. Plus, I took a shower that day!”

“That was after you and Ling ate a boot.”

“I was young,” he excused himself.

“Young? I thought you were an adult?” Al looked at him with his chin resting between his thumb and index finger. He gave his brother a snarky look, egging him on.

Instead, Ed’s face mellowed. “That’s what I thought. I was far from it. Hell, even now I’m not an adult. I only realize that now. I thought I could do everything on my own – that I didn’t need help,”

“Brother…” Al said, a mixture of sorrow and guilt in his tone.

“Lieutenant Ross was right when she told us that we could rely on adults...I didn’t listen to her because I thought I was one but...I was far from it.” 

The boys both had to grow up fast. When their mother died, they were two children left alone, only with a neighbor a half a mile away as a guardian. Most of the time they cooked and cleaned on their own (which always ended in disaster). They were in charge of their own education, health, and anything else they could possibly need. By the time they were in the double digits, they committed alchemy’s greatest sin and Ed was a major in the military – a human weapon. 

They didn’t get the childhood that their former classmates got. They didn’t get to live childish innocence. They didn’t get to look forward to summer vacation. They didn’t get to run around the town square playing tag and being yelled at by shopkeepers. 

They didn’t have a childhood.

They were studying complex science and math seriously by the time they were five and six. They went through intense training from a woman who lived hours away from their home. They were on trains alone for hours on end without supervision. They were in fights to the death long before either of them could have even had their first kiss.

Their childhood was, quite literally, ripped from them by life and limb.

“I may have accepted it a bit more than you,” Al confessed, twiddling his fingers, his cheeks red. “There was one night that you forgot something at the office, so I had gone to get it while you were asleep. When I got there, Miss Riza was still there doing paperwork. I got the chance to talk to her...I could talk about anything – things I couldn’t talk to you about. Miss Riza listened to me while she did her paperwork…She invited me to come and spend time with her during the night whenever we were in town. I feel bad now because I realize that she’d sit and listen to me long after she finished her work,” Al laughed nervously and scratched the back of his neck.

“Still, I was able to...I don’t know… accept an adult into my life? She was there to be support. She was there for you too, brother, you just rejected it.”

Ed sighed before scoffing, “You never told me you did that.”

“B-because I was embarrassed! You’d make fun of me!” Al stammered.

“Would not!”

“Would too!”

“Would NOT.”

“Brother, we’re not doing this,” Al said, rolling his eyes.

Ed crossed his arms and shook his head, “What will I do with you, Alphonse Elric.”

“You just know I’m right.”

They stared at each other in silence for a few moments – gold eyes pierced a matching pair. It wasn’t long after, however, that they couldn’t keep their gaze anymore and burst out laughing. Ed laid down on the booth seat clutching his stomach and Al wiped tears from his eyes.

“You’re so stupid, brother.”

Ed smiled and sat up. “We used to do stupid shit like this all the time when we were traveling.”

“No,” Al straightened himself, “ _You_ did stupid stuff to try and get on my nerves.” Al’s finger pointed itself right at Ed, who looked back at his brother with a mortified expression.

“How _dare_ you say that to your _own brother_ . _”_ He brought his right hand to his chest and closed his eyes to gently wipe his “tears” away. “I can’t believe you, Al. I thought you were my brother...but alas…” His gaze looked in the distance, sadness swimming in the pools of gold.

Al was not impressed in the slightest. He rolled his eyes, but a tiny smile appeared on his face.

Silence permeated the air. It wasn’t uncomfortable though. Both boys looked out the window towards the bustling Central Station. People waving goodbye to their loved ones, families coming to Central on vacation, soldiers monitoring the passersby.

“A lot’s happened, huh?”

“Yeah.”

Edward suddenly perked up and focused on one figure.

“Brother? Are you alright?” Al asked, receiving no answer. He turned his head towards the direction his brother was staring. His eyes widened in surprise and he smiled.

It was a bittersweet sight. It wasn’t real – it couldn’t be – but for some reason, both boys could see the same thing:

One hulking grey figure and one smaller red and yellow figure, both rushing past their window in a hurry.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! This was my first zine and I'm proud of the work I did! This held me back from updating my main fic, [The Bond We Share](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17313560/chapters/40726034), but rest assured now that school has let out and I no longer have this Zine to work on it will be updated soon.
> 
> Once again I want to give a huge shoutout to [_Ltreat](https://twitter.com/_Ltreat) for drawing that AMAZING piece of art. Please go give them a follow!
> 
> Comments, kudos, and feedback are extremely appreciated. Once again thank you so much for reading!


End file.
